WARDOGS Updates Hub
Dates, prices, and beta history — labelled as confirmed or still moving.
WARDOGS is still approaching Steam Early Access. This hub is the timeline, not a rumour blender. If a screenshot on Discord disagrees with Steam, Steam wins.
Deep pages:
- Early Access — 10 September 2026, $39.99, 1–2 years, price rises, what is in the box.
- Closed beta — August weekend, Closed Beta 02 around 3–6 September 2026, player counts, what wiped.
- FPS Games Show — 3 September 2026 at 18:00 UTC on Twitch, the showcase that opened Beta 02.
Gameplay systems live on guides. This category is for calendar and policy.
Confirmed on the store and in official videos
- Developer: BULKHEAD. Publisher: Team17. Engine: Unreal Engine 5. Platform: Windows via Steam.
- Early Access date: 10 September 2026.
- Price: $39.99 base, $49.99 Supporter Edition (game + Supporter Pack). Full release is planned higher (public talk clustered around $59.99 at 1.0).
- Mode: 100 players, three factions, randomised 2×2 km Control Zone, first to 100 points.
- Economy: $10,000 starting cash, persistent wallet, no battle pass during Early Access according to BULKHEAD.
- Anti-cheat: Easy Anti-Cheat, kernel-level.
- Closed Beta 1: 21–23/24 August 2026. Official recap: on the order of 500,000 unique players, 100,000+ concurrent at peaks, same weekend as a Call of Duty beta and a Battlefield update.
- Closed Beta 02: tied to The FPS Games Show on 3 September 2026 (18:00 UTC), running into 6 September 08:00 UTC for pre-orders, with playtest waves for Request Access accounts. Scale-test targets named by BULKHEAD: login queues, server browse, Twitch Drops, DLC entitlements, VOIP.
Still moving
- Exact hour of the Early Access unlock on the 10th (Steam listed “approximately 7 days” during the week before).
- Final vendor prices. Our tier lists are playtest snapshots.
- Jet timelines, extra maps, and the seasonal meta BULKHEAD wants to build during EA.
- Proton/Linux and Steam Deck.
- Any monetisation after 1.0. The studio has been explicit that live-service bills do not vanish forever; they also promised no extra monetisation during Early Access and earned skins (Supporter Pack excepted).
How we will log patches
When Steam News posts a numbered patch, this hub will grow a notes page. Until then, do not invent “Patch 1.0.3” from a Reddit title. Follow official links.
If you are deciding whether to pre-purchase, watch BULKHEAD’s own 10 Reasons NOT to Buy video, then read system requirements. The studio has told unhappy testers to refund. Use that.
Related pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common WARDOGS questions.
Has WARDOGS launched yet?
Steam Early Access is scheduled for 10 September 2026. Playtests and closed betas are not the full launch. See Early Access.
Where are patch notes?
Official notes will live on Steam News and be summarised here. There is no complete 1.0 patch log yet because 1.0 is still the end of a planned 1–2 year Early Access.
Did beta progress carry into Early Access?
The August closed beta was described as wiping. Do not assume a beta wallet survives. Details on the closed beta page.
What was The FPS Games Show?
BULKHEAD’s own Twitch showcase on 3 September 2026 at 18:00 UTC. Closed Beta 02 opened right after it. Recap on the FPS Games Show page.